NPC International, Inc. today announced its 2010 second fiscal quarter results conference call will be held on Monday, August 9, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. CDT. This call can be accessed in the U.S. by dialing 866-510-0712. The international number is 617-597-5380. The access code for the call is 72484555.

The conference call can also be accessed through the Company’s website at www.npcinternational.com by clicking on the Thomson Financial logo in the investor information section or by accessing the Thomson Financial website at www.earnings.com. For those unable to participate live, a replay of the call will be available until August 16, 2010 by dialing (888)286-8010 or by dialing international at (617)801-6888. The access code for the replay is 92746130. A replay of the call will also be available through the Company’s website.

The Company’s quarterly financial statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations will be included within the Company’s Form 10-Q to be filed with the SEC on Friday, August 6, 2010 which can be accessed at www.sec.gov.

NPC International, Inc. is the world’s largest Pizza Hut franchisee and currently operates 1,143 Pizza Hut restaurants and delivery units in 28 states.

With a landslide victory at the polls, pizza lovers across the country have united to keep Pizza Hut’s $10 Any Pizza deal – any size, any crust, any toppings for just $10.  From May 11-June 10, 2010, Pizza Hut asked America to vote on the fate of the incumbent deal at Facebook.com/PizzaHut.  An overwhelming 98 percent of voters clicked “Yes,” resulting in a resounding victory for the $10 Any Pizza deal.

“America has voted and the $10 Any Pizza deal will be extended at Pizza Hut,” said Brian Niccol, Pizza Hut Chief Marketing Officer.  “The one-sided victory shows that pizza fans remain hungry for the combination of great taste and value.  We’re excited to continue offering that combination with our $10 Any Pizza deal.”

With a determination to keep the $10 Any Pizza deal alive, Pizza Hut Tweetologist Alexa Robinson packed up campaign materials and embarked on a tour across America to rally support.  As campaign manager, Alexa visited state capitols, engaged voters at city landmarks and made media appearances in New York City, Philadelphia, Little Rock, Richmond, Va., Columbia, S.C., and Des Moines, Iowa.

“From New York City to Des Moines, I met with hundreds of loyal Pizza Hut fans who voiced their support of the $10 Any Pizza deal,” Robinson said.  “And that support resulted in an overwhelming victory in the Facebook vote.  The $10 Any Pizza deal at Pizza Hut is clearly a popular choice.”

Alexa tracked her progress on Twitter (twitter.com/pizzahut) and Foursquare (foursquare.com/user/pizzahut), giving Pizza Hut fans exclusive news of her whereabouts and access to photos from the campaign trail.  Fans can also visit Flickr (flickr.com/pizzahuttwintern) to view photos from the tour.

As state primaries heat up across the country and the American public grapples with today’s issues, Pizza Hut is reaching out to voters with another monumental task — saving the $10 Any Pizza deal.  Pizza Hut announced today that its famous $10 Any Pizza deal is on the ballot in 2010.  Supporters can participate by visiting Facebook.com/PizzaHut today through June 10 and voting ‘YES’ to keep the $10 Any Pizza deal.

In keeping with the American democratic process, the outcome of this important pizza poll will be decided by majority vote.

“We started a pizza revolution when we introduced the $10 Any Pizza deal,” said Brian Niccol, Pizza Hut Chief Marketing Officer.  ”Now it’s up to the people to put pizza first and vote ‘YES’ to keep the $10 Any Pizza deal on the menu at Pizza Hut.”

To help push this issue to the top of the political agenda, Pizza Hut Tweetologist Alexa Robinson will serve as campaign manager for the $10 Any Pizza deal and visit communities across the country canvassing for votes.

“Voting is one of the most basic American rights and pizza fans should have the ability to exercise this right as well,” Robinson said.  ”There are many issues being decided at the polls this year, but the future of the $10 Any Pizza deal is at the top of our list.  I’ll visit Pizza Hut restaurants, national landmarks and political hot spots to gather support for the $10 Any Pizza deal.  Join us in putting pizza first in 2010.”

$10 Any Pizza deal advocates can follow Alexa on Twitter (twitter.com/pizzahut) and track her progress on Foursquare (foursquare.com/user/pizzahut) for exclusive updates.  The “Keep the $10 Any Pizza Deal” campaign tour kicks off today in New York City with scheduled stops in the following cities:

Pizza Hut, America’s Favorite Pizza, delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant.  The only pizza company to be named a top ten franchise in 2009 by Entrepreneur Magazine, Pizza Hut began 50 years ago in Wichita, Kansas and today operates nearly 10,000 restaurants in more than 90 countries.  Pizza Hut, Inc. is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. ( YUM).

NPC International, Inc. today announced its 2010 first fiscal quarter results conference call will be held on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. CDT. This call can be accessed in the U.S. by dialing 866-788-0540. The international number is 857-350-1678. The access code for the call is 11452538.

The conference call can also be accessed through the Company’s website at www.npcinternational.com by clicking on the Thomson Financial logo in the investor information section or by accessing the Thomson Financial website at www.earnings.com. For those unable to participate live, a replay of the call will be available until May 17, 2010 by dialing 888-286-8010 or by dialing international at 617-801-6888. The access code for the replay is 74898342. A replay of the call will also be available through the Company’s website.

The Company’s quarterly financial statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations will be included within the Company’s Form 10-Q to be filed with the SEC on Monday, May 10, 2010, which can be accessed at www.sec.gov.

NPC International, Inc. is the world’s largest Pizza Hut franchisee and currently operates 1,147 Pizza Hut restaurants and delivery units in 28 states.

PizzaHut.com is announcing a re-launch, dubbed the “Virtual Flagship.”  The site features updates that make the consumer ordering experience faster, easier and more intuitive than the previous site.  Additionally, Pizza Hut announced that thanks to the success of the site, the company expects to hit $2 billion in online sales this year.

“The additions to the website provide an enhanced level of order customization that allows us to get customers’ favorites to them faster,” said Brian Niccol, Pizza Hut Chief Marketing Officer. “We’re excited about the new improvements to our largest and most successful storefront.”

The upgraded website functionality showcases the fun and ease of ordering online and includes the following features:

• Iconic Ordering: Visual cues guide customers throughout the ordering process, allowing them to see crust types and toppings as they customize their pizzas. Images of your items are added to your cart, ensuring there are no ordering mistakes.
• Intuitive Design: The site remembers who you are, allowing for two-click reordering. Returning customers will see their last order when first accessing the site, great for ordering your favorites each time with just a couple of clicks.
• En Espanol:  A new Spanish-ordering site is launching concurrently.  The Spanish site features the same great functions that the English site does, allowing our customers to order in their preferred language.

To celebrate the website launch, Pizza Hut gave one of its customers free pizza for a year.  The customer logged on the new PizzaHut.com and was later surprised with pizza for a year (in the form of Pizza Hut gift cards).  With free pizza for a year, this lucky customer will continue to be able to enjoy the new Pizza Hut online ordering experience.

Customers looking for a reason to check out the new website can also enjoy a great deal. Right now, Pizza Hut is offering any pizza for just $10. That means customers can order any size pizza, with any crust and any toppings for just $10.

For more information on Pizza Hut, log onto PizzaHut.com or interact with Pizza Hut at facebook.com/pizzahut and twitter.com/pizzahut. Ordering is also available through the Pizza Hut App, available from the App Store on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore, and a video demoing the application’s features and functionality can be found at pizzahut.com/iphone.

Pizza Hut, America’s Favorite Pizza, delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant. The only pizza company to be named a top ten franchise in 2009 by Entrepreneur Magazine, Pizza Hut began 50 years ago in Wichita, Kansas and today operates nearly 10,000 restaurants in more than 90 countries. Pizza Hut, Inc. is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. ( YUM). To check out what’s new at Pizza Hut visit pizzahut.com.

Pizza Hut– the UK’s leading pizza restaurant and delivery chain –has today announced that it has created a 12-month media holding on atmAd digital out-of-home screens.

The restaurant chain is working with atmAd to drive restaurant footfall by specifically targeting consumers using the cash machine during the last week of each month, coinciding with pay day.

The Payday Campaign, planned and booked by Starcom, will promote Pizza Hut’s £4 Happy Hour Menu at high street ATMs within close proximity of restaurants nationwide.

Each week-long burst will aim to deliver over 750,000 impacts a month over the next 12 months, driving awareness of value offers amongst an audience who have money to spend on eating out.

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NPC International, Inc. (the “Company”), today reported results for its fourth fiscal quarter and fiscal year ended December 29, 2009.

FOURTH QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS:

• The fourth quarter of 2009 was comprised of 13 weeks while 2008 contained 14 weeks.
• Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA (“Adjusted EBITDA”) from continuing operations (reconciliation attached) of $19.0MM was below the prior year by $4.2MM or 17.9%.
• Loss from continuing operations of $0.3MM compared to income of $3.2MM recorded last year.
• Debt remained equal to the third quarter at $433.7MM while cash increased by $4.2MM to $14.7MM.
• Comparable store sales from continuing operations declined -10.5% rolling over a decrease of -3.4% last year.

YEAR-TO-DATE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Fiscal 2009 was comprised of 52 weeks while 2008 contained 53 weeks.
• Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations (reconciliation attached) of $94.5MM exceeded the prior year by $13.3MM or 16.4%.
• Income from continuing operations of $10.4MM was $2.9MM or 38.9% greater than the $7.5MM recorded last year.
• Debt declined $20.1MM and cash increased by $9.3MM from last fiscal year end on strong free cash flow despite investing $13.3MM in net acquisition/divestiture activity in our first fiscal quarter.
• Our Leverage ratio increased to 4.51X Consolidated EBITDA, as defined in our credit agreement from 3.92X at last fiscal year end compared to maximum leverage per our credit agreement of 5.25X at fiscal year end.
• Comparable store sales from continuing operations declined -10.2% rolling over growth of 2.0% from last year.

FIRST QUARTER 2010 OUTLOOK:

• Comparable store sales for the first quarter 2010 are estimated to be around 10.0%.
• We are required to make a mandatory excess cash flow payment on our senior secured credit facility of $31.3MM, which we intend to pay from our cash reserves on March 30, 2010. If this payment were applied to fiscal 2009 results, our leverage ratio at fiscal year end 2009 would have been 4.19X in lieu of the 4.51X reported.

The Company’s annual financial statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations are set forth in the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2009 which can be accessed at www.sec.gov.

NPC’s President and CEO Jim Schwartz said, “We are not pleased with the performance of the Pizza Hut brand and consequently, our own performance during fiscal 2009, and the fourth quarter’s results were essentially a continuation of this disappointment. However, the brand did some ground breaking work on value during the fourth quarter and as a result we are optimistic that we have identified a message that resonates with the consumer and we are reaping the benefits during the first quarter of fiscal 2010.

As expected our fourth quarter comparable store sales improved versus our third quarter result but remained soft despite much easier comparisons as we lapped the initial effects of the recession a year ago. Our operators controlled the business admirably but the loss of sales volume was too significant for our operators to completely overcome as two year comparable store sales declined 13.9% compared to a decline of 8.0% in the third quarter of 2009. As a result, Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations fell below the prior levels by 17.9% for the only negative Adjusted EBITDA comparison quarter this fiscal year. In spite of this quarter’s results we grew Adjusted EBITDA on a full year basis from continuing operations by $13.3MM or 16.4% and maintained Adjusted EBITDA flat with last year when including the impact of discontinued operations.

As we look forward to fiscal 2010, the sales environment is no less challenging than it was in 2009. The consumer remains under extreme pressure with unemployment stagnating at record levels and no employment recovery visible on the immediate horizon. As a result, the brand has focused upon giving the consumer a combination of the value and abundance that they have been searching for from our segment. We believe that our new value initiative has reset the quality/value bar in the pizza segment and our stores are reaping the benefits of this change with improved sales and traffic during our first fiscal quarter of 2010. Currently, we expect to generate comparable store sales of around 10.0% during the first quarter of 2010 due to the effectiveness of this promotion. Obviously this is a significant and welcome change in the trajectory of our business from fiscal 2009. Further, we intend to make our required $31.3 million excess cash flow payment on March 30, 2010, which we expect to fund wholly through our cash reserves. If this mandatory excess cash flow payment were applied to fiscal 2009 results, our leverage ratio at fiscal year end 2009 would have been 4.19X in lieu of the 4.51X reported.

There is much work to be done in our brand and at NPC on a local level to drive greater market share and increased profitability. We expect to experience only modest commodity inflation during 2010 at this point, and for the first time in three years we are not facing a pending federal minimum wage increase. We are determined to make 2010 a year of recovery and we look forward to sharing our results with you as we progress on this journey back to the leadership position in this category.”

The fourth quarter loss from continuing operations was $0.3 million compared to income of $3.2 million for the same period last year. Increased net product sales and fees and other income, lower product ingredient costs, lower interest expense and lower income tax expense provided year-over-year benefit to the quarter. However, these favorable variances were more than offset by lower restaurant margins due to soft sales and higher costs in the acquired units including direct labor costs and increased other restaurant operating expenses largely due to a higher cost structure (higher royalty expense, higher depreciation expense, among other items). Also offsetting the favorable variances were increased general and administrative expenses associated with increased direct supervisory personnel and related costs in support of the acquired unit operations, as well as one less week of operations than the prior year.

On a full year basis, income from continuing operations was $10.4 million compared to $7.5 million last year. This increase was due to increased net product sales and fees and other income, lower product ingredient costs, lower interest expense and lower income tax expense. These favorable variances were partially offset by lower restaurant margins due to soft sales and higher costs in the acquired units including direct labor costs and increased other restaurant operating expenses largely due to a higher cost structure (higher royalty expense and higher depreciation expense, among other items). Also offsetting the favorable variances was increased general and administrative expenses associated with increased direct supervisory personnel and related costs in support of the acquired unit operations, as well as acquisition assimilation and training costs incurred and the prior year benefit of an additional week of operations.

We recorded a net loss of $0.3 million for the fourth quarter compared to a net loss of $25.4 million last year. We reported a loss, net of taxes, from discontinued operations of $28.6 million for the fourth quarter of last year due to the loss on the sale of 70 and 42 units to PHI on December 9, 2008 and January 20, 2009 and no effect in the current quarter.

On a full year basis we reported net income of $10.4 million this year compared to a loss of $18.1 million last year. We incurred a loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes, of $0.1 million this year compared to a loss of $25.6 million last year due to the aforementioned loss on sales of units to PHI.

Net product sales for the fourth quarter were $203.3 million, for an increase of $13.4 million or 7.1% compared to the same quarter of the prior year, due to a 28% increase in equivalent units resulting mostly from the acquisition of 288 units in the fourth quarter of 2008 and 105 units in the first quarter of 2009. This increase was largely offset by a comparable store sales decline of 10.5% and an additional week of operations in the prior year, which contributed an additional $14.5 million or 7.6% to the fourth quarter of last year’s sales volume.

Net product sales for the fiscal year were $845.1 million, for an increase of $178.2 million or 26.7% compared to the same period of the prior year, due to a 42% increase in equivalent units resulting mostly from the aforementioned acquisitions. This increase was partially offset by a comparable store sales decline of 10.2% and an additional week of operations in the prior year which contributed an additional $14.5 million or 2.2% to last year’s sales.

Fees and other income were $9.1 million this quarter, an increase of $1.8 million over last year. On a year-to-date basis, fees and other income were $37.4 million, for an increase of $14.5 million over last year. These increases for the quarter and year-to-date were largely due to a higher mix of delivery transactions in the acquired units versus our comparable operations which more than offset the fees and other income attributable to the additional week of operations in the prior year.

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations for the fourth fiscal quarter was $19.0 million which was $4.2 million or 17.9% less than last year. Increased net product sales and fees and other income were more than offset by lower restaurant margins due to soft top line sales, increased general and administrative expenses and an additional week of operations in the prior year. Based on a pro-rata allocation of sales assuming Adjusted EBITDA margins realized in the fourth quarter, we estimate that this contributed approximately $1.8 million in incremental Adjusted EBITDA to prior year’s result.

On a full year basis Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was $94.5 million which was $13.3 million or 16.4% more than last year. This increase is attributable to higher net product sales and fees and other income, which were partially offset by increases in general and administrative expenses, and an additional week of operations in the prior year, which we estimate contributed approximately $1.8 million in incremental Adjusted EBITDA to prior year’s result.

Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter, including the effect of discontinued operations, was $19.0 million which was $7.1 million or 27.2% less than last year. On a full year basis Adjusted EBITDA including the effect of discontinued operations, was $94.6 million which was $0.6 million greater than last year.

NPC International, Inc. is the world’s largest Pizza Hut franchisee and currently operates 1,149 Pizza Hut restaurants and delivery units in 28 states.

Debbie Hutchens isn’t afraid of hard work. Yet when she nervously walked into the First Street Pizza Hut that warm August morning for her first day on the job, she wasn’t sure if she had what it took to be a good waitress.

Twenty-six years later, you could say it worked out.

In an industry notorious for its high turnover rate, waitress Hutchens stands out. From deep-dish to desserts, sodas to salad plates, Hutchens faithfully has served hungry dining patrons in the Grand Valley for 2 1/2 decades. Born and raised in Craig, Hutchens moved to Grand Junction in 1983.

Twenty-three years old and just off a divorce, she was looking for a fresh start when her mom suggested she move in with her brother while she got back on her feet. With the Exxon oil shale bust beginning to take its toll on the local economy, jobs were scarce.

So when a friend of a friend told her about a waitress opening at Pizza Hut, she jumped at the chance. She recalled thinking at the time: “I’m not sure if I’ll be any good at it, but I need a job. And I love pizza. I’ll try it.”

Continue reading . . .

Every March, the search goes on for the ultimate basketball upset.  Since 1985, 100 men’s college basketball teams earning the No. 16 seed have battled No. 1 seeds.  All 100 have come home in defeat.  It would take one of the greatest upsets in sports history for a No. 16 seed to pull off that stunning victory and create an all-time favorite sports moment.

Pizza Hut®, America’s Favorite Pizza, is prepared to reward the first school to secure the upset of a lifetime in this year’s men’s college basketball tournament.  And the spoils won’t just go to the players and coaches; the entire campus will get a piece of the action.  

If a No. 16 seed defeats a No. 1 seed, students can get ready for a pizza party the likes of which they’ve never seen.  Pizza Hut will give away 10,000 free slices of pizza to currently enrolled students and active faculty members at the lucky No. 16 seed school before the academic year concludes. Redemption details will be publicized at the winning school after the upset.

“An underdog upset of this level would become a favorite in sports history and should be awarded with free pizza from Pizza Hut,” said Brian Niccol, Pizza Hut CMO.

Students at the No. 16 seed schools just need to pull out their lucky charms and hope for an upset; and if the nearly unthinkable does happen, students can start dreaming of eating their favorite pizzas from Pizza Hut.

Those who are not rooting for the underdog can also get an amazing deal. In support of all hungry basketball fans, right now Pizza Hut is offering any pizza for just $10. That means fans can order any size pizza, with any crust and any toppings for $10. The only exceptions are that double toppings are not available on this $10 offer, and Stuffed Crust Pizza is available for an additional charge.  The Pizza Hut $10 offer will be available for a limited time and no coupon is required.

About Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant. The only pizza company to be named a top ten franchise in 2009 by Entrepreneur Magazine, Pizza Hut began 50 years ago in Wichita, Kansas and today operates thousands of restaurants around the globe. Pizza Hut, Inc. is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. ( YUM). To check out what’s new at Pizza Hut visit Pizzahut.com.

As restaurant sales across the country continue to shrink, pizza chains are nabbing a bigger share of the pie. But new investors may be late to dinner.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 25 cents a share on Tuesday, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, compared with 17 cents a share a year ago, and revenue of $437.5 million, up 2.2%.

It is a respectable performance amid a difficult year for the restaurant industry. Overall sales fell 1.2% in 2009 and traffic was down as much as 4% at its third-quarter nadir, data from the NPD Group show.

Against that backdrop, Domino’s and its two main rivals, Papa John’s International Inc. and Pizza Hut, which is owned by Yum Brands Inc., have emerged in relatively good shape.

Continue reading . . .

A $10 Pizza Hut promotion that launched late last year in Dallas and went nationwide last month has helped the country’s largest pizza seller regain some of the sales it lost to lower-priced chains, the company’s president said Thursday.

After shoveling a small clump of dirt to launch construction of a new world headquarters, Scott Bergren said the company had a “much stronger start of the year than we had last year,” though he declined to offer specific numbers. Pizza Hut is part of Louisville-based Yum Brands Inc., which is publicly traded.

Bergren attributed the improvement in part to the company’s offer of “any pizza, any crust, any toppings” for $10. The program is advertised as a limited-time offer, but no end date has been announced.

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The quick-serving restaurant (QSR) chains in India have found an easy and inexpensive platform to connect with their target audience—social networking sites. Many QSR chains like McDonald’s, Mainland China, Pizza Hut or the new entrant Jus Booster Juice have opened accounts in Facebook or Twitter. They connect with their fans and followers on a daily basis, provide them updates and special offers.

“Our parent company McDonald’s has been using social networking sites for quite long and that too very successfully. McDonald’s India started it last year and we are looking at it very seriously. In a couple of months’ time we will prepare a plan on how to use these media for marketing the brand more effectively,” said Arvind Singhal, director, marketing, McDonald’s India.

McDonald’s has 17,20,234 fans in Facebook (FB), while McDonald’s India has gathered 29 members. Pizza Hut has 11,37,245 fans in FB while it has 25,938 followers in Twitter. Mainland China, the Chinese QSR brand of Speciality Group of Restaurants, too has 114 fans in FB, while it has 85 followers and follows 221 members on Twitter.

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Whether you are a modern day Casanova, a hopeless romantic or just love to flirt, your favorite pick up line may earn you more than just a smile or grimace this Valentine’s Day.

Pizza Hut is inviting consumers with silver tongues to share pick up lines – the best, the worst and the cheesiest – by tweeting @pizzahut for the chance to win a single order of HERSHEY’S® Chocolate Dunkers®, Pizza Hut’s chocolate-topped dessert sticks.  Even if you are more of the target for amateur Cupid remarks than the sugar lips dishing out sweet commentary, Pizza Hut would love to hear a line that won you over.

“Valentine’s Day is all about cheesy pick up lines,” said Pizza Hut Tweetologist Alexa Robinson. “As a southern girl, one of my favorites is, ‘Are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only ten I see!’ I’m excited to see what other people send in.”

To help set the mood for sweet tweeting, @pizzahut has compiled some more favorites:

“Hope you know CPR because you take my breath away.”

“Did it hurt…When you fell from heaven?”

“You must be tired. You have been running through my dreams all night.”

“I have had a really bad day and it always makes me feel better to see a pretty girl smile. So, would you smile for me?

How to Enter

Sweet talkers and those who’ve heard every line in the book alike can enter by visiting http://twitter.com/PizzaHut. Participants are asked to tweet replies using the hashtag #iluvPH and directing tweets to @pizzahut. Submissions must be “G” rated and will be judged on originality and “sweetness” (see Official Rules at www.pizzahut.com/newsroom.aspx). The sweetest tweets will be selected by Tweetologist Alexa and the team at Pizza Hut.  Pizza Hut will accept entries February 11 – February 14, 2010. Winners will be notified by direct message on Twitter on or by February 15, 2010.

The Prize

100 sweet tweeters will win a free single order of HERSHEY’S® Chocolate Dunkers®, Pizza Hut’s chocolate-topped dessert sticks (in the form of a $5 Pizza Hut gift card).

Any dessert lover is sure to fall for Pizza Hut’s HERSHEY’S® Chocolate Dunkers®. HERSHEY’S® Chocolate Dunkers are freshly-baked, soft, melt-in-your-mouth dessert sticks topped with white chocolate and HERSHEY’S® milk chocolate – served with rich chocolate dipping sauce!  The HERSHEY’S® trademark and trade dress are used under license.

Pizza Hut, America’s Favorite Pizza, delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant. The only pizza company to be named a top ten franchise in 2009 by Entrepreneur Magazine, Pizza Hut began 50 years ago in Wichita, Kansas and today operates more than 10,000 restaurants in over 90 countries. Pizza Hut, Inc. is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. ( YUM). To check out what’s new at Pizza Hut visit pizzahut.com.

According to research, reading aloud to a child is the single most important factor in raising a reader.(1) To help cultivate more young readers through reading aloud, Pizza Hut® is introducing the R.E.D. Zone™ — an online portal for educators and parents to help children in preschool and pre-kindergarten Read Every Day (R.E.D.) and build reading-readiness skills.

To kick off the launch, the R.E.D. Zone is challenging teachers and parents across the nation to read aloud for 800 minutes — 20 minutes each day for at least five days per week over an eight-week period –with the Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge.

“With the introduction of the R.E.D. Zone, we are excited to bring fun new resources that focus on early reading to teachers, parents and young readers across the country,” said BOOK IT! program director Leslie Brunt. “The R.E.D. Zone program is designed to spark an interest in reading at a very young age and help children develop a life-long love for reading.”

The R.E.D. Zone is teaming up with Corduroy, one of the best-loved bears in children’s literature, as the official reading partner for the program. Young readers will have the chance to use fun Corduroy-themed materials in the Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge.

The Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge will run March 1 through April 25, 2010. Preschool and pre-kindergarten classrooms and families with preschool aged children who have read at least 800 minutes during this time period are eligible to enter for a chance to win a R.E.D. Zone Reward. Prize packages will be awarded to ten eligible classrooms and to ten eligible individual families. The prize packages consist of: two books, Corduroy and A Pocket for Corduroy, a plush Corduroy bear, and a one-year subscription to One More Story, an online library of children’s literature.

Participants will be able to track their minutes by downloading fun cutouts featuring Corduroy from the R.E.D. Zone website. After each read-aloud session, participants can use the cutouts of Corduroy’s buttons and pockets to record the book they read or amount of time spent reading, which can then be placed on a wall as a visible representation of their accomplishments.

How to Participate in the Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge

Interested participants can visit the R.E.D. Zone to complete the registration form for the Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge. Registered participants will receive the official Give Me Twenty Reading Challenge Sweepstakes Entry Form via email after April 26, 2010 to enter for a chance to win the appropriate prize package. For more information, see the Official Rules.

Explore the R.E.D. Zone

For more information – including tips for reading aloud and a list of great read-aloud books — please visit www.bookitprogram.com/redzone.

About BOOK IT!®

In 1985, Pizza Hut established the BOOK IT! National Reading Incentive Program to motivate children to read more and help them develop a lifelong love of reading. BOOK IT! is a six-month program for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Teachers set monthly reading goals for their classrooms, and when students achieve their monthly goal they receive a Reading Award Certificate to redeem at their local Pizza Hut restaurant. For more information, visit www.bookitprogram.com.

About Corduroy and Penguin Group (USA)

Don Freeman’s storybook character, Corduroy, a little bear with a missing button, has been one of the best-loved bears in children’s literature for over 40 years since the book was originally published in 1968. Corduroy and A Pocket for Corduroy are two of many perennial favorites published by Viking Children’s books, a division of Penguin Group (USA). Penguin Group (USA) is a global leader in children’s publishing through its Young Readers Group. For more about the Penguin Young Readers Group, visit www.penguin.com/youngreaders. Readers can find out more about Corduroy at www.penguin.com/corduroy.

About One More Story

One More Story is an online library of the best of children’s classic and contemporary literature for pre-readers and early readers. Through a simple point and click process, children can choose a book, see the illustrations and have the book read to them. For emerging readers, the I Can Read It mode empowers children to read on their own. For more information, visit www.onemorestory.com.

About Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant. The only pizza company to be named a top ten franchise in 2009 by Entrepreneur Magazine, Pizza Hut began 50 years ago in Wichita, Kansas and today operates thousands of restaurants around the globe. Pizza Hut, Inc. is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. ( YUM). To check out what’s new at Pizza Hut visit Pizzahut.com.

As the teams from New Orleans and Indianapolis are huddling up to play the biggest game of the football season on Feb. 7 in Miami, the Pizza Hut team of more than 120,000 employees will be calling plays from the kitchens at over 6,000 restaurants across the country to fill pizza orders on the company’s busiest day of the year.

Pizza Hut is expecting a 50 percent increase in business for the big game over a typical Sunday –that means that Pizza Hut will receive over 1.2 million orders through online, phone, text and iPhone ordering.

To visualize all those orders for pizza, pasta and wings, the Pizza Hut research team pulled together some unique stats that demonstrate how a hungry nation of football fans gets fed:

• On game day, Pizza Hut will sell customers their favorite pizzas – to the tune of 1.7 million pizzas – enough to cover more than 45 football fields.
• If all of the Pizza Hut employees working were lying head to toe, they would stretch almost the entire distance between Miami and Key West, Fla. — equivalent to 28 football fields.
• Pepperoni is the favorite pizza topping—60 percent of Americans will be eating pepperoni on their Pizza Hut pizza during the big game. Italian sausage is the second favorite topping, followed by ham.
• Phone orders are the favorite ordering method, with over 80 percent of orders placed over the phone.

A Big Deal for the Big Game: Any Pizza Hut Pizza is $10

Because no big game party is complete without Pizza Hut pizza, this year Pizza Hut is offering fans a special deal – any pizza at Pizza Hut is now just $10. That means customers can order any size pizza, with any crust and any toppings for $10. The only exceptions are that double toppings are not available on this $10 offer, and Stuffed Crust Pizza is available for an additional charge. The Pizza Hut $10 offer will be available for a limited time and no coupon is required.

Fans also can add a little kick to their big game spreads with WingStreet wings, which offer eight delicious sauces for traditional, crispy bone-in or boneless varieties. For those looking for a twist on traditional fare, Tuscani Pastas from Pizza Hut are sure to be as big of a crowd pleaser as a fourth quarter touchdown.

Game Day Ordering Play: 20 Percent Off First Time Online Orders

More than 80 percent of the game day orders occur before halftime, so Pizza Hut recommends placing your order early. Fortunately, Pizza Hut offers more ways to order than any other national chain. Pizzahut.com is a convenient way to place your order up to a week in advance, and first time online customers will receive 20 percent off their online order. The Pizza Hut interactive iPhone App offers pizza lovers a user-friendly way to order their favorites time and time again. You can also order via text message, mobile Web, even through Facebook. For more information or to place your order, visit Pizzahut.com.

Pizza Hut delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant. The only pizza company to be named a top ten franchise in 2009 by Entrepreneur Magazine, Pizza Hut began 50 years ago in Wichita, Kansas and today operates thousands of restaurants around the globe. Pizza Hut, Inc. is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. ( YUM). To check out what’s new at Pizza Hut visit Pizzahut.com.

• Pizza Hut Gift Card Collection